Electric Three-Wheelers Better Suited For Freight Delivery: WRI Report 

A latest working paper by the World Resources Institute (WRI)-India claimed that electric three-wheelers are better suited for freight deliveries than conventional three-wheelers. In their paper, the researchers from the cleantech think-tank discussed the viability of using autorickshaws for urban freight delivery in India. 

The report claimed that as the daily commercial deliveries in India are expected to grow 40 percent annually by 2025, there was a need to handle loads of different sizes with different segments of vehicles. It said that is a death of a vehicle category for transporting goods between 30 kilograms to 350 kilograms. Therefore, the researchers batted for adopting autorickshaws for urban freight delivery and catering to this segment. 

WRI-India researchers also claimed that the sales of electric three wheelers in India had been on the rise. They also emphasized on the role of electric autorickshaws for the added benefit. 

“Switching to EVs will eliminate tailpipe emissions and noise. In addition, urban freight vehicles’ trips are generally short, enabling the use of smaller batteries, and the vehicles spend long periods in parking stands or depots, where charging stations could be located,” the report said.

It also added that employing ICTs with modern three-wheeler EVs could facilitate planning of more precise delivery routes and improve fleet upkeep, while also being environmentally sustainable and cost-effective

The working paper also said that the e-autos are more stable than the fossil-fuel based autos because of heavy batteries in e-autos that are often closed to the ground. This, the study claimed increases stability. 

In the paper, the researchers also cited another study claiming that lower center of gravity meant that every vehicle corner could be used to load goods. 

The report said that their demands have escalated because of the low cost compared to fossil-fuel-based autos. As per the details from the Ministry of Road Transport, in May 2022 a total of 23,321 electric three wheelers were sold against a total sale of 18,187 three-wheelers run on fossil-fuels, hinting at the increased adoption of EVs among three-wheeler users.